Mimi-o-file cabinet



Aug. 15, 1939 M, BEATTY 2,169,911

MIMI-O-FILE CABINET Filed Feb. 7, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Skier/M444 Aug. l5, 1939 M. M. BEATTY 2,169,911

IIllI-O-FILE CABINET Filed Feb. 7, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig.3. 14

3mm MMBeafiy Aug. 15, 1939 M. M. BEATTY MIMI-O-FILE CABINET Filed Feb. 7, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 grwc-wkw MMBeatty Patented Aug. 15,1939

- 1 UNITED. STATES PATENT. OFFICE 12 Claims.

This invention relates to filing cabinets. It is particularly directed to a-cabinet. for filing Mimeograph and other stencils, legal papers, insurance policies and other letters or papers.

8 An object of this invention is to provide a filing cabinet of the characterdescribed, so constructed that lengthy documents or papers can be filed in a more compact space, the construction being such that letters or documents are kept 10 smooth and straight at all times.

- A further object of this invention is to provide a cabinet of the 'character described having means for filing and supporting papers formed with openings to receive pins, the pins being adjustable sideways so as to engage any spread of holes desired. 1

Another object of this invention is to provide a filing cabinet with supporting shelves which are removable in allpositions of the shelf supporting mechanism.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a filing cabinet of the character described, having shelf supporting members which are adjustably mounted on a frame and may be 3 spaced apart at varying distances.

. Yet another object of this invention is to provide an improved and compact cabinet of the character described which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to manipulate;

which shall be constructed to permit quick and easy access to its contents and permit instant removal thereof for examination and rapid filing, and in which there shall be minimized wear and tear on the papers to better preserve the same.

35 Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and'in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exempli- 40 fied in the construction hereinafter described,

and of which the scope of application will be.

indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is m. 5 is a top plan view of the shelf holder;

Fig. is an elevational cross-sectional view'o a portion of the cabinet illustrating a modified form of mechanism for moving the cabinet mech- 'anism from in use position to closed position;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10, showing the parts in used position;

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken on line I2-l2 of Fig. 11.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, l0- designates a filing cabinet embodying the invention. The same comprises a bottom wall i2, side walls i3 and H, a rear wall l5 and atop wall It, hinged as at IT to the upper end of the rear wall. The cabinet is open at the front and may be closed by a door I9 hinged to the front edge of side wall it, as at 20. Storage space may be provided in the upper end of the casing by means of a fixed partition 2| having a horizontal portion 22 and an upwardly and forwardly inclined portion 23. Articles may be placed into the compartment 22 formed by the partition 2! by liftingor swinging the top wall i6 upwardly.

Fixed within the cabinet are a plurality of horizontal, vertically aligned spaced rods 25, the ends whereof engage the side walls l3 and ll of the cabinet. As shown in the drawings, three rods 25- areprovided, there being one adjacent the partition 2|, one substantially in the middle of the cabinet and one spaced above the bottom wall l2 of the cabinet. Mounted on the rods 25 is a frame 21 supporting the shelf holders and shelves as will appear hereinafter. Said frame comprises substantially similar left and right portions 28 located adjacent the inner surfaces of the side walls l3 and I4. Each portion 28 comprises a rear vertical substantially fiat bar 30 and a front vertical substantially fiat bar 3i. Said rods are interconnected by a. plurality of links 32 formed with central slots 33, slidably and pivotall'y receiving the ends of rods 25 therethrough." The rear bar 30 contacts the rear wall ii of the cabinet and isshorter than the front bar 3|.

It will;be understood thatthe rear bars 39 terminate substantially at the lowermost links 32, whereas the front bars u have portions :4 extending below said lowermost links, so that, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, when the links 32 are in horizontal position, the bottom ends of said front bars contact the bottom wall l2. However, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the front bars 3| may be raised when the frame is moved from the in use" position shown in Fig. 2 to the not in use position shown in Fig. 1, the bars 3| being lifted ofl the bottom wall |2 of the cabinet and the rear bars 38 slidably moving downwardly along the rear wall of the cabinet into contact with said bottom wall. The front edge of the rear bars 38 are formed with a series of equilaterally spaced notches 36. The front edge of the front bars 3| are formed with L-shaped notches 31 for the purpose hereinafter appearing.

The frame portions 28 are spaced apart and caused to operate together in unison by means of a series of shelf holders 38 shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 8 of the drawings. Each shelf holder 38 comprises a pair of parallel spaced guides 48 having aligned grooves 4| on the inner sides thereof. Attached to the guides 38 at the front and rear, are downwardly extending ears 43. The cars are interconnected by front and rear parallel rods 45 and 45 respectively, extending beyond said ears and formed with heads 45a and 46a. respectively. The shelf holders are thus in the form of rigid frames and are received between the frame portions 28. The extending portions of the rear rod 45 engage within a pair of aligned notches 35, whereas the extending portions of the front rod 45 extend within a pair of aligned notches 31. Any suitable number of shelf holders may be provided, and they may be mounted on the frame portions 28 with any suitable distance separating the same. As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, when the front bars 3| contact the bottom wall |2, the frame holders are in horizontal position.

, Shifting or accidental loosening of the shelf holders is prevented by reason of the L-shaped notches 31.

Slidably mounted on each shelf holder is a shelf 58 preferably made of relatively thin sheet material and being substantially oblong in shape. The side edges of the member 58 are received within the grooves 4| of the shelf-holder. Each shelf is formed adjacent the front edge thereof with a pair of aligned slots 50a. Adjustably mounted on said shelf are a pair of pins 5| adapted to be received in openings of papers to be filed.

Each pin 5| has a. threaded end 52 extending through one of said slots 58a in the shelf 58 receiving a nut 53 for fixing said pin to the shelf. Extending upwardly from the threaded portion 52 is a portion 54 inclined to the plane of the shelf 58. The portions 54 of pins 5| are likewise threaded to receive sleeves 55, whereby the length of the pins may be adjusted. When the shelves are in inclined position, as shown in Fig. 1, the pins 54 are preferably in vertical position. Stencils or other papers to be stored in the cabinet may have holes punched therein for receiving the pins 5|. The distance between the pins 5| may be varied to accommodate papers having different distances between the punched holes.

Means is provided for moving the frame from the in use" position of Fig. 2 wherein the shelves are in horizontal position to the not in use" position of Fig. 1 in which position the cabinet is closed. To this end, there is fixed adjacent and parallel to the bottom of the cabinet, 9. rod 58 having the ends thereof engaging side walls |3 and M of the cabinet. Journalled on the rod 6 is a U-shaped strap 6| having a portion 82 parallel to the rod, and arms 53 parallel to one another and extending upwardly and being formed with bearing openings to receive the ends of the rod 88. Fixed within the cabinet, in any suitable manner, adjacent the side wall I3 thereof, and forwardly of the rod 60 is a pivot support 65 to which there is pivoted a. bell crank 66. Said bell crank has a. forwardly projecting arm 51 and an upwardly projecting arm 68. The arm 61 is formed with a foot engaging portion or pedal 53. Plvotally interconnecting the upper end of the arm 63 adjacent the wall I3 with the upper end of the arm 68, as at 1| and I2 respectively, is a. link 13. Interconnecting the pivot H with the lowermost link 32 rearwardly of the slot 33, as at 15, is a link 16.

It will now be understood that when the cabinet is closed and the shelves are in inclined position as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the rear rods 30 are down and the front rods 3| are up. The rods 25 are at the right hand ends of the slots 33 in the links 32 and the foot pedal 68 is up. In such position, the papers, stencils, sheets, etc., on the shelves substantially hang from the pins 5|, and are thus maintained straight and smooth. Although the shelves may be removed even when in inclined position, the frame may be moved to horizontal position as shown in Fig. 2 to facilitate removal of the shelves, by pressing downwardly on the foot extension 58 for causing rotation of the bell crank 66 in a clockwise direction to pull the link 13 forwardly and cause an upward force on the lowermost links 32 rearwardly of the rod 25. The links 32 are thus caused to move pivotally in clockwise direction, the rods 38 moving upwardly, and sliding along the back wall I5 of the cabinet. During such movement of the filing mechanism from the position shown in Fig. l to the position shown in Fig. 2, the rods 25 move relatively to the slots 33.

Means is provided for moving the filing mechanism from the position of Fig. 2 back to the position of Fig. 1. To this end, there is fixed within the cabinet adjacent the bottom of the side wall l4, a pivot support 80. Pivoted to said support 83 is a bell crank 8| having a forwardly projecting arm 82 and a downwardly and rearwardiy projecting arm 83. The arm 82 is formed with a foot piece or pedal 84. Interconnecting the lower end of the arm 83 with the upper end of the arm 63 adjacent the wall H, as at 86 and 81, is a link 88. Interconnecting the pivot 81 with the adjacent link 32 rearwardly of the rod 25, is a link 88. Upon pressing downwardly on the foot piece 84, the bell crank 82 is moved in a clockwise direction to move the links 32 in a counterclockwise direction about the rods 25, thereby moving the rear vertical rods 38 downwardly into contact with the bottom wall I2 of the cabinet. The frame is thus caused to move from the position of Fig. 1 to the position of Fig. 2.

In Figs. 10, 11 and 12 there is shown a modifled mechanism for moving parts from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 1. The structure shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12 takes the place of the levers and links 8|, 88 and 88 adjacent the side wall l4. As shownin said figures, there is attached to the bottom wall l2, a support 95, to the upper end of which is pivoted a lever 96, having an upwardly extending arm 91 adjacent the front end. Said arm 81 is provided for the purpose hereinafter apsaid lever 96 is a plate 99 lying against arm 91 and having a curved slot I receiving the pin 98 and'formed with a horizontal foot engaging piece IOI.' Fixed to the plate 99 is a pin I02 for the purpose hereinafter appearing. Fixed-to the lever 96 are a pair of spaced pins I09 and I04. Mounted on the pin I09 is a spring I05 having one arm engage the arm I02 and another arm engage the pin I04, thereby tending to rotate the arm 99 in a clockwise direction on its pivot.

Pivoted to -the rod 25, adjacent the link 32, is a bell crank I09 having a downwardly extending arm I09 anda horizontal arm IIO formed with a curved finger II I, slidably engaging the lower edge of link 92. The bottom end of the arm I09 is formed with a slot Ill, receiving a pin 5, fixed to the rear end of the lever 96.

When the cabinet is open, and the shelves are horizontal, the link 32 is likewise horizontal,

as shown in Fig. 11 of the drawings. Upon pressing down on the foot piece IIII, the lever 96 is rotated in a clockwise direction for rotating the bell crank I08 about the rod 25 in a counterclockwise direction to cause the link 32 to move from horizontal position to inclined position, as shown in Fig. of the drawings. Since the rear bar 30 moves downwardly in contact with the rear wall of the cabinet, the link 32 slides downwardly on the rod 25. The curved finger II I of the bell crank I08 engaging the link 92 forwardly of the rod 25 causes the same to move from horizontal to inclined position when the lever is depressed. Obviously, the entire frame mechanism moves together with the link 32. When the lever is depressed, plate 99 contacts the cabinet below the door and is swung into the cabinet as shown in Fig. 10.

It will now be'understood that long and extra long legal documents can be filed in a much smaller cabinet than heretofore and that the shelves may be very conveniently removed. The stencils, papers or other documents hang in a semi-suspended position when the cabinet is closed, keeping them" smooth and preventing mussing and wrinkling. It will be noted that when the shelves are in horizontal position, the front ends thereof protrude through the front doorof the cabinet. By swinging said shelves to inclined position, the door can be closed and the filing mechanism is contained in a more compact space.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A cabinet having filing mechanism therein comprising a frame supporting a plurality of parallel shelves in horizontal position, and means for moving said shelves from horizontal position to inclined position, said cabinet having a front door, and the front end of said shelves protruding through said door whenin horizontal position and said shelves being wholly contained within said cabinet when in inclined position.

2. A cabinet having a bottom wall, side walls,

and a rear' wall and being provided with a door at the front, a plurality of horizontal, vertically aligned rods withlnthe cabinet having the ends thereof engaging the side walls of said cabinet, and a support for filing means, having a sliding 5 hinged connection with said parallel rods.

3. A cabinet having a bottom wall, side walls, and a rear wall and being provided with a door at the front, a plurality -of horizontal, vertically aligned, rods within the cabinet having the ends thereof engaging the side walls of said cabinet, and filing mechanism hinged on said parallel bars, said mechanism including similar spaced portions adjacent the inner surfaces of said side walls, each portion comprising front and rear vertical bars interconnected by parallel links formed with slots slidably and pivotally receiving said rods therethrough.

4. A filing cabinet having a. plurality of horizontal rods thereon, a frame having parallel portions, each comprising-front and rear vertical bars interconnected by links pivoted to said rods, shelf holders mounted on said frame, and shelves slidably and removably mountedon said shelf holders.

5. A cabinet having a rear wall and bottom wall and side walls, and being open at the front, a plurality of horizontal, vertically aligned rods fixed within said cabinet and engaging at the ends thereof the side walls of said cabinet, a frame having'portions disposed adjacent the inner surfaces of said side walls, each portion ineluding a. rear vertical bar, slidably engaging the inner surface of the rear wall of the cabinet and ing left and right similar portions, each portion having a rear vertical bar slidably engaging the rear wall of said cabinet, and a front vertical bar interconnected to the rear vertical bar by a plurality of links having slots pivotally and slidably receiving said rods therethrough, the bottom ends of said front bars extending below the bottom ends of said rear bars when said links are in horizontal position and contacting the bottom wall of said cabinet in such position.

- 7. A cabinet having a bottom wall, side. walls and a rear wall, a plurality of horizontal, vertically aligned rods fixed within the cabinet and having the ends thereof engaging the side walls of said cabinet, a frame within the cabinet having left and right similar portions, each portion having a rear vertical bar slidably engaging the rear wall of said cabinet, 9, front vertical bar interconnected to the rear vertical bar by a plurality of links having slots pivotally and slidably receiving said rods therethrough, the bottom ends of said front bars extending below the bottom ends of said rear bars when said links are in horizontal position and contacting the bottom wall of said cabinet in such position, and means including a foot pedal for moving said links from horizontal position to upwardly and forwardly inclined position and lifting said front bars off said bottom wall and lowering the rear barsinto contact with the bottom wall of said cabinet.

8. A cabinet having a bottom wall, side walls and a rear wall, a plurality of horizontal, vertically aligned rods fixed within the cabinet and having the ends thereof engaging the side walls of said cabinet, a frame within the cabinet having left and right similar portions, each portion having a rear vertical bar slidably engaging the rear wall of said cabinet, a front vertical bar interconnected to the rear vertical bar by a plurality of links having slots pivotaliy and slidably receiving said rods therethrough, the bottom ends of said front bars extending below the bottom ends of said rear bars when said links are in horizontal position and contacting the bottom wall of said cabinet in such position, means including a foot pedal for moving said links from horizontal position to upwardly and forwardly inclined position and lifting said front bars off said bottom wall and lowering the rear bars into contact with the bottom wall of said cabinet, and means including a foot pedal for moving said links from inclined position back to horizontal position.

9. A cabinet having a bottom wall, side walls, and a rear wall and being provided with a door at the front, a plurality of horizontal, vertically aligned rods within the cabinet having the ends thereof engaging the side walls of said cabinet, filing mechanism hinged on said parallel bars, said mechanism including similar spaced portions adJacent the inner surfaces of said side walls, each portion comprising front and rear vertical bars interconnected by parallel links formed with slots slidably and pivotally receiving said rods therethrough, said bars having notches, and shelf holders having portions engaging said notches and being formed with aligned grooves, and shelves slidably mounted in said grooves.

10. A cabinet having a rear wall, a horizontal rod parallel to said rear wall and fixed within the cabinet, a frame having parallel portions at the sides of the cabinet, each portion including a rear vertical bar slidably engaging the inner surface of said rear wall, and a front vertical bar interconnected to said rear vertical bar by a link formed with a slot, pivotally and slidably receiving said horizontalrod.

11. In combination, a cabinet, a horizontal rod supported in said cabinet, a pair of parallel, similar frames within said cabinet, each having front and rear vertical bars interconnected by a link, intermediate portions of said links being pivotally supported by said rod, a shelf holder on the bars of said frames and connecting said frames, and a shelf on said shelf holder.

12. In combination, a cabinet, a horizontal rod supported in said cabinet, a pair of parallel, similar frameswithin said cabinet, each having front and rear vertical bars interconnected by a link, intermediate portions of said links being pivotaliy supported by said rod, a shelf holder on the,

bars of said frames and connecting said frames,

a shelf on said shelf holder, and means for swing- 

